Booklist Online - Review of the Dayhttp://www.booklistonline.comen-gbFri, 09 Dec 2016 07:32:52 GMTALA Booklist Publications Copyright 2007http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss90Booklist Online - Review of the Dayhttp://www.booklistonline.com/Last-Kiss/Images/3710/37177/The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.jpghttp://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=8513815The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.&#13;&#13;<br><H><font size=3>See, Lisa (author).</font></H>&#13;<br>Mar. 2017. 384p. Scribner, hardcover, $27 (9781501154829). <br>&#13;<font color='#3366FF'>REVIEW. </font>&#13;First published December 1, 2016 (<i>Booklist</i>).&#13;&#13; <p>In a remote mountain village, the survival of an Akha tribe, one of China’s 55 ethnic minorities, depends on tea. Rigid traditions prohibit Li-yan from keeping her newborn. She saves her daughter by leaving her in a nearby town, wrapped in blankets with a tea cake that hints at her distinctive heritage. Over the course of decades, See (<i><a href="http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=6679236" >China Dolls</a></i>, 2014) reveals Li-yan’s exceptional story of departure and eventual return. Interspersed with Li-yan’s peripatetic experiences are those of her daughter, the titular tea girl, divulged by medical reports, letters, even the transcript of a group therapy session for adopted Chinese teens. See, herself partly of Chinese ancestry, creates a complex narrative that ambitiously includes China’s political and economic transformation, little-known cultural history, the intricate challenges of transracial adoption, and an insightful overview of the global implications of specialized teas. The only possible flaw is that some may consider her magic-wand ending unbelievable. As this is her first book since losing her own mother, bestselling author Carolyn See (to whom it is dedicated), See’s focus on the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters, by birth <i>and </i>by circumstance, becomes an extraordinary homage to unconditional love.</p>&#13; <p>&#13; <b>HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY:</b> Bestselling See’s latest will be vigorously promoted on all platforms as she meets readers on a 10-city tour.</p>&#13;<i>&#151; Terry Hong</i>&#13;http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=8513815Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:32:52 GMTFirst published December 1, 2016 (<i>Booklist</i>).